Fognini Stuns del Potro to Win First Hard Court Title

Italian player Fabio Fognini downed Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro to win his first career hardcourt title. The score was 6-4, 6-2 in the Italian’s favour in the final of the ATP Los Cabos Open.

This is the 31-year-old’s eighth ATP Tour victory in his career. However, this is his first on hardcourts as his other victories have come on clay surfaces.

The win has resulted in a career best season for Fognini as this is his third title of 2018. It adds to the wins in Sao Paulo and Bastad.

With this victory, he is set to move up one spot in the new world rankings on Monday to No. 14.

This is their second meeting with Del Potro winning their previous encounter in 2015 in Sydney, Australia. the Argentine was gunning for his second title in Mexico this year. Earlier, he had won a tournament in Acapulco.

Inspite of dropping the first three games, Fognini fought back. He used his forehand to push del Potro behind the baseline.

Soon, del Potro began to come undone and Fognini was not letting up, returning everything into play. The 31-year old went on to win 12 of the final 15 games of the match. He will next play the Canadian Open, facing off against Steve Johnson. He will also partner del Potro in the doubles to lock horns with compatriot Marco Cecchinato and Damir Dzumhur.

Del Potro said, “Unfortunately, I couldn’t play my best tennis in the final. But, Fabio deserved to win. He played a very smart game. He took all the chances to win, and I think he’s a good winner of the tournament. But, in many ways I’m looking forward to keep playing better and better in the next tournaments.”

The question is, can he add more ATP titles in the bag in the build up to the US Open later this month?